Apparatuses for transporting containers made of a plastic material, for example polyethylene terephthalate (PET), are known in the art. The apparatuses use guide rails to guide and secure the containers or bottles along the transport path, so that a safe transport of the articles is assured. In case of single-lane transport of the containers it is advisable that a guide rail be provided on either side of the transport path. In case of a multi-lane transport path it is sufficient to provide a guide rail on the outer sides of the transport path.
The Japanese patent application JP 2005289610 A2 discloses a guiding rail consisting of a material having a better resistance to abrasion, a better resistance to shock, and a better sliding property than conventional materials for guiding rails. The material of the guiding rail consists of a polyethylene (PE), wherein the polymer chains have a very high molecular weight (PE-UHMW). The wear of the guiding rail can easily be determined by providing a coloured marker at the bottom of a groove or notch. If the coloured marker has been worn off, the guiding rail needs to be replaced.
From U.S. Pat. No. 3,491,873 guiding rails or guide rails for an apparatus for transporting containers are known. The guiding rail consists of a stiff support material, which is suitably configured for receiving an insert of plastic. The support material consists of aluminium. The plastic insert wearing off during use can be easily replaced. It is not necessary to replace the entire guide rail. The plastic insert is attached to the stiff support material in a form locking and/or force locking manner.
The European patent EP 0 891 933 B1 discloses a guiding rail exhibiting a metallic channel element formed by lateral walls. Between the lateral walls a plastic insert is accommodated.
The German patent application DE 10 2006 049 488 A1 discloses an apparatus for processing flat, fragile substrates. The substrates are acted upon by a processing fluid in a processing chamber. For this purpose they are transported through the processing chamber in a horizontal way by a transport apparatus. Lateral guiding systems, exhibiting cylindrical, pivotable lateral guiding rollers, assure an advantageous transport of the substrates directed in a direction of transport. A suitable material for the lateral guiding rollers is polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) or polyether ether ketone (PEEK).
The German patent application DE 100 23 151 A1 discloses an arrangement of transport belts for the transport and/or flip-over of laminar material. The transport surfaces of the belts are conducted via rotating, disc-shaped or cylindrical redirecting elements, wherein the redirecting elements are provided with a recess guiding the belt. The recess is bounded by areas containing or consisting of friction-reducing materials. The friction-reducing materials are PTFE of PEEK.
The Japanese patent application JP 06227632 describes a transport chain, wherein the inner diameter of the rollers consists of a PEEK.